


Flatmates

by leedybee



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-01
Updated: 2014-04-13
Packaged: 2018-01-17 19:48:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1400308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leedybee/pseuds/leedybee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin and Arthur certainly have their differences, and living together doesn't really help, but they work it out... usually</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr: sheepishsmile.tumblr.com

“MERLIN”  
The shout came from further back in the flat, Arthur’s bedroom to be exact. Merlin rolled his eyes. “WHAT?” he shouted back.  
“I NEED YOUR HELP”  
“NO”  
“YES, NOW COME HERE”  
Merlin heaved himself off the couch, there was no use denying Arthur, he would just keep shouting until he got what he wanted, or until the neighbours complained about the noise. There was a certain charming quality to his flatmate which Merlin couldn't deny, but counterbalancing that was his spoilt, prickish attitude which was far more noticeable. He really wasn't sure why he had agreed to move in with Arthur after university, given that he could have chosen to live with Gwen and Lancelot, or Gwaine, or Leon, or really anybody less annoying and more helpful than Arthur. But somehow he felt drawn to him, despite their differences; it was a bond he couldn't explain… fate perhaps? But no, Merlin didn't believe in fate, which seemed quite silly when he thought about it, given the whole magic thing…  
“MERLIN EMMERSON, IF YOU DON’T GET YOUR LAZY ASS OVER HERE AND HELP ME MOVE THIS I WILL COME OUT THERE AND THROW YOU OUT A WINDOW,” This snapped Merlin out of his thoughts, and he hurried to Arthur’s room, knowing full well that Arthur could throw him out a window, which would most definitely hurt given that they were on the third floor of their building. And unless he fancied using magic to help himself, and basically out himself to half the town, not to mention Arthur, getting thrown out of a window would end very badly indeed.  
“Alright, alright, I’m here. Now what do you need, Your Majesty?” Merlin ended this with a very sarcastic, and rather uncalled for, bow. It was a running joke amongst their friends that Arthur and Merlin may as well be a king and his manservant, given how fond Arthur was of giving orders, and how, no matter how much he protested, Merlin always ended up doing as he was asked.  
Arthur glared at Merlin, “Would you stop being such an insufferable prat and help me lift this?” He gestured towards his wardrobe, which was currently lying, door-side down, in the middle of the room.  
“Arthur, what exactly happened here?” Merlin was struggling to hold in his laughter as he took in the ridiculous scene.  
The glaring continued as Arthur spoke through gritted teeth, “I was doing some rearranging and-and- it just didn’t work out, okay? Jesus, just help me move it, Merlin!” Merlin kept laughing as he conceded and crossed to the other side other the wardrobe, “Okay on three- one, two, three!” They both heaved, and the wardrobe went with them, eventually ending up back on its feet.  
“Great, now get out of my room,” Merlin’s mouth fell open at Arthur’s blatant rudeness.  
“Fine, I guess that means you won’t be coming with me to The Fox?” Gwen had sent Merlin a text just minutes before Arthur had begun his shouting, all their mates were meeting up for drinks at their favourite pub. Merlin knew Arthur wouldn't pass up an opportunity to get pissed, and the alcohol might actually improve his personality. Not to mention that they both loved their friends to death.  
“Hey now, no need to jump to conclusions there, Merlin! I’d love to see everyone, too bad it means spending the evening with you,” this last part was muttered as Arthur turned away, and Merlin elected to ignore it, choosing to believe that Arthur didn't really hate him that much.


	2. Chapter 2

“Arthur, the cab’s here. You ready?” Merlin said this without glancing up from his phone, Gwen was already mad at him for being late and he was trying to placate her before she really started to flip.

“Yes I’m ready Merlin; I’ve been ready for the past twenty minutes. You’re the reason we’re late,” Arthur rolled his eyes as he walked past Merlin to the staircase, “Gwen will be furious, you know that, right?” Merlin knew this all too well in fact, the last time he had been late for a party Gwen had promised him divine punishment if it happened again. At that point Merlin would have liked to shout at them all that the reason he was late was because there had been a particularly angry pixie rampaging through central London which had to be dealt with, but of course he couldn’t. Merlin often had to clean up magical messes, and protect his friends from various strangeness, all while keeping it a secret; that being said, he was also just terrible with time management. None of his friends knew about his magic, although he thought Arthur’s step-sister Morgana might suspect that there was something off about him. But given that he rarely saw Morgana except briefly, discovery by her was not a worry for Merlin. 

The cab ride to The Fox was generally uneventful, aside from the fact that their driver happened to be a Satyr, but he didn’t seem to be up to anything nefarious, so Merlin decided to leave him be. The real action started when they arrived. Clearly everyone had begun drinking without them, and this made the ordeal of placating Gwen all the more interesting.

“Sorry we’re late everyone, it was Merlin’s fault as per usual” Arthur said this, knowing full well that no one would have blamed him anyway, meaning he said it simply to further drive home the fact that Merlin had broken his promise to Gwen.

“Manipulative bastard,” Merlin muttered, blushing as Gwen’s gaze was bent on him, and then turned away.

“No need to apologize Arthur, but would you please tell Merlin that I will not be speaking to him unless he expresses genuine remorse for betraying my trust?” Merlin knew Gwen wasn’t entirely serious, but she also wasn’t fully kidding, and given the number of empty glasses in front of her, it seemed safest to take her seriously. He dropped to his knees in front of everyone in the pub, feigning tears, and groveled.

“Guinevere, please please please accept my most sincere, truthful apologies. I have seen the error of my ways and am ready to repent.” He gazed up at her through his lashes, doing his best impression of a wounded puppy until he saw the corners of her mouth twitching as she attempted to hide a smile. 

“I suppose that was satisfactory,” Gwen said, and Merlin knew she had fully forgiven him, “Now get up and stop making a scene. Let’s get you boys some drinks, Lance and Gwaine were just about to get some more pints!”

Once they’d all had a few drinks, Leon and Gwaine started flirting outrageously, which was somewhat of a habit when they got drunk, and Gwen and Lance were sucking face, as per usual, so unless Percival decided to show up and save them, Arthur and Merlin were stuck talking to one another. Of course they were friends, but Merlin had rather been hoping for some other company; however as suspected the alcohol made Arthur slightly more bearable, and even a little bit funny. 

“You know Merlin, for all the crap I give you; you know I don’t mean it right?” Arthur slurred, leaning on Merlin’s shoulder, “You’re a good bloke, and not bad looking either,” he winked at Merlin with a sloppy grin.

Merlin’s mouth fell open, and he tried to convince himself it was only the alcohol making his cheeks flush, and making Arthur say these things. “You’re drunk,” he managed

“So? You are too,” Arthur tried to look offended, but given his state only ended up bursting into giggles, which in turn sent Merlin, who was in a similar haze, into fits of laughter. 

Eventually they had to head home, with Arthur leaning on Merlin for support, which wasn’t very helpful to either of them. They stumbled into the flat and Arthur promptly collapsed onto the couch, dragging Merlin with him.

“Arthur,” Merlin laughed, “you have to let me up,” 

“No, shan’t,” Arthur said, still slurring, as he pulled Merlin closer and promptly fell asleep. Merlin was too drunk to lift Arthur, and nearly unconscious himself, so he simply allowed Arthur to hold him, eventually falling asleep himself.


	3. Chapter 3

When Merlin woke, he was alone on the couch, and his head was pounding. Looking around him, Merlin noticed that he was still fully clothed, although his shoes were lying beside the couch, which was nice. Merlin always hated falling asleep with his shoes on, it made him feel inexplicably horrible. Thinking back to the events of the previous night, Merlin remembered it in surprising detail, given the amount of alcohol he had consumed. 

Arthur was flirting with me, he remembered in surprise, Arthur fell asleep cuddling me! This thought made Merlin blush, and smile in spite of himself. He had never thought he was attracted to men before this, but he was also not narrow minded about the idea. However Merlin had to remind himself that Arthur probably didn’t remember what had happened, and even if he did remember, he certainly didn’t want to talk about it. 

Merlin was brought out of his thoughts by a ray of sunshine pouring through the window, reminding him just how terrible he felt. “Oh God,” he muttered as he stood up, trying to shield his eyes while he stumbled down the hall to the bathroom. Even the sound of the shower turning on made Merlin wince, but as he slid under the hot water, he felt some of the dizziness wash away. Merlin stood under the warm water for what felt like an eternity, and when he finally decided to get out, he felt significantly better, or at least well enough to realize that he was starving. 

Not bothering to get dressed, Merlin wandered into the kitchen in just a pair of athletic shorts, without even boxers underneath. As he entered, he saw Arthur for the first time that morning, bent over and looking in the fridge. He seemed to have a plan, as he had an assortment of food items already piled on the counter beside him. Merlin, however, barely noticed all of that, he was only focused on one thing, Arthur’s ass in a pair of low-slung jeans that should have been illegal, and the curve of his muscular back as he bent down. Merlin tore his eyes away, pinching himself to prevent the bulge in his pants from getting any bigger, and cleared his throat to alert Arthur of his presence. 

Arthur was clearly startled; he jumped, and as he was trying to stand, bashed his head on the edge of the fridge. “GOD DAMNIT MERLIN DON’T DO THAT,” he bellowed, breathing heavily, and Merlin couldn’t help but find it adorable how easily scared he was, despite how hard Arthur was trying to hide it. 

“Sorry,” Merlin smirked, not meaning it at all. The adorable factor was one thing, but Merlin also just loved messing with Arthur.

“You’re not sorry at all, but whatever, do you want some breakfa-” Arthur halted as he turned around. He seemed startled at the fact that Merlin wasn’t fully clothed, and Merlin even thought he saw a small blush creep up Arthur’s chest and into his cheeks. They stood like that for a few seconds, staring at each other, until Merlin decided to break the silence.

“Breakfast? Yeah that would be great, what’re you making?”   
The events of the previous evening were clearly not going be discussed, at least not yet, and Merlin was fine with that, he was content just to have a moment of peace with Arthur.


End file.
